Helloooo!! I really love reading your analysis they're so well done!! So I wanted to read more of your thoughts about Shin-Ae and Kousuke's future relationship (platonical ofc) since I saw that you mention it a lot lol. How do you think it'll go? Will they like, become close friends and such?
Oh Nonny. Platonic Shinsuke is SO SO SO important to me - but you probably already have an idea of that, sending me this ask, hehehe. But I still want to say THANK YOU for sending this, regardless, but I jump at any opportunity to blab about Platonic Shinsuke lmao. I'll go ahead and reiterate here that I'm going to be referring to Kousuke and Shinae's relationship going forward in this post and that yes, of course I meant it platonicly and not that I'm shipping them (but I also want to make it clear that I've got nothing against people shipping them; I don't wanna see any of that kind of hate in my notes or inbox alright?), but I know sometimes people see the word "relationship" and assume that you MUST be talking about romance even though we have all kinds of relationships between us and the people in our lives and most of them AREN'T romantic in nature. But yknow, gotta make it clear lest anyone try to twist words.
ANYWAY.
This one is LONG. It's been a while, ahhhh, the return of the long posts!
So the thing with Shinae and Kousuke is that I definitely have what I WANT to play out and as we know, what I want and how things DO play out aren't always the same, but I'll try to be rational and imagine how I think things can/might go, too. But ultimately what i DO want is for Shinae and Kousuke to form a close friendship. Kousuke needs friends in his life - and I mean this plural. I'd love for him to reach a point where he sees that Hansuke loves him not out of obligation but because he just DOES, that there is nothing obligate about the lengths he's gone to in order to be there for him. I'd love if he could one day reconnect with his old uni friends. I don't know that there's a lot of room for him to reconnect with Yujing or not; I think they're both so caught up in their own differences that if Kousuke ever came around to her (that is, acknowledge why she's treated him how she has and acknowledge the grudge she holds against him), I'm not sure if YUJING could ever let it go. I'd like to be proven wrong, though. I think Yujing and Kousuke could be a fun duo, esp if she and Hansuke can ever make up (look I know the moment the news drops about Rand not being Kousuke's father, Hansuke will feel betrayed. But this isn't about him!).
But what I'm getting at is, I would love if Shinae could be counted amongst Kousuke's friends, and i think we're supposed to be/going to be seeing that, in some form. We're going to address some illustrations Quimchee has created, with the caveat that yes these are considered "non-canon" but also that Quimchee sneaks a lot into these and we see a lot of foreshadowing in them. And of course, the first up is this notorious illustration:
Go on, click it. We've got some high res here baby.
Now, I have of course talked about this before elsewhere in my blog and if I was better organized I could find and link to those instances, but alas, I'm not, so I'll just reiterate things here as they're relevant to what I'm saying anyway. Clearly in the past this was the harbinger of much shipping wars and debate, and while a general consensus these days is that this illustration largely represents that Shinae will be a bridge between the brothers and help connect them, there's a lot to be said about the Shinsuke side of this illustration.
The way Kousuke lays in the dark with Shinae partly in the dark with him, the way he looks at her in wonder, and the way their hands connect feels SO important to our current and future point of the story. Shinae's hand is beneath Kousuke's in a way that suggests she's taking his hand, like she's helping someone up from the ground, pulling them to their feet. And we've already seen Kousuke's wonder before; Shinae is someone who fascinates him, and continues to do so, because she is (aside from Nol who he's locked away) the only person who seems to have no ulterior motives with him, according to him. (Caveat to acknowledge that YES Hansuke has no ulterior motives and YES Jayce seems to genuinely care about him, and not only because he's employed by him. I know! I love this about them! I'm speaking strictly of how Kousuke views the people around him, because it's his self-esteem that is important here.) To Kousuke, everyone around him desires something from him, whether it's just the glory of being close to the Hirahara heir or actually coveting his status, his money, wanting favors, etc. But not Shinae.
She is different than the people in his world. She stands up to him, she tells him the things no one else would dare dream to do and doesn't cow to him in favor of brown-nosing. Kousuke knows people don't like him, he knows it's all flattery, but only Shinae says the things that they wish they could. Only Shinae sees him as a person, and this is so vital to their possible relationship.
I think if we view this within the context of the current point of the story, too, of a Kousuke who will have lost everything, who has opened himself up to the truth about everything he once believed in, who is becoming aware of the harm he's done in the name of what he thought was protection in what he thought was to make his family proud, we are met with a Kousuke who is full of self-loathing, a Kousuke who is an empty vessel devoid of everything he once held close; and isn't it a wonder, if Shinae continues to see him as a person. Continues to talk to him, to interact with him, when he has nothing to offer, when he is nothing but a husk of a man, a monster, really, who has done horrible things to someone she cares so much about, who has caused so much harm to people around him? Because while Kousuke knows and is perplexed by Shinae's lack of ulterior motives, by the way she treats him like a person, I expect that when he's consumed by his own self-loathing - when he's lost his entire identity because who else was he BUT the heir to the Hirahara company and fortune, someone trying in vain to catch up to and impress his father, what else is there TO HIM? - he'll be further perplexed that with nothing else to offer, with the truth of who and what he really is on the table, why would she want anything to do with him?
Now, I'm uncertain where I stand with Shinae and the current Kousuke. Last we saw them, after she'd witnessed Kousuke punching Nol and the whole falling from the balcony deal, following the awful, tense confrontation in Minhyuk's room, she still treated Kousuke the same way she always does. Will her feelings towards him have changed because Kousuke essentially hospitalized Nol? What will their working relationship be like going forward while Nol is in jail and Kousuke is falling apart? In fact, will Kousuke be whisked off to Japan, all alone? What remains of Shinae who has to finish up school? Technically she has to complete her time with the Hiraharas, but she's employed as Kousuke's assistant; how does that work? This makes it trickier for me to really give a good guess on how I think things will go. For example, something I've always felt strongly about is that there might be a chance that Shinae won't finish out her contractual obligations before going off to uni. Should she take Yui's offer - and let's be real, it is going to happen - she'll like be given a reprieve, in order to finish school, and will likely have to finish up the remainder of her contract after she graduates, or maybe during a summer, but I feel like part of Yui's offer would entail Shinae making connections and taking advantage of internship opportunities. Yui is, after all, trying to build Shinae in her likeness.
That's a lot of rambling to say: I'm not entirely sure where Shinae will sit with Kousuke at this point. If she continues to work with him until graduation, though, I think we'll see her growing concerned about him. The thing about Shinae is that she sees people in a way that not everyone else does, which is what makes her such a wonderful MC and especially, what makes her so good in Kousuke's proximity; she extends empathy not always reserved by others. The other thing is she has an alcoholic for a father and can recognize it in someone else. (That said, I fear Kousuke will go beyond alcoholism; going from being unknowingly dependent on drugs, I think he will probably become an addict :<.)
The other thing about her is that Shinae, too, has experienced Yui. Knows Yui. As @poisonheart put it "because she has seen Yui, even when Kou carries traits of her, she can still see the sides that ARE NOT". Kousuke will likely struggle with understanding WHO he is, and how much of him is just Yui's manipulation, and if there's any real Kousuke at all, but Shinae can see that he was never truly Yui. That yes, he DOES differ from her and while yes he has those traits and has been enmeshed with them, the fact that he carries any regret at all, the fact that he is wracked with guilt at all alone proves that he's not her, that he still has a core identity, even if he doesn't see it yet.
I'm not sure if she's there yet, but certainly with a little more life experience, certainly after meeting more people and living in that world a little more (Yui offering Shinae the opportunity to any school of her dreams means the opportunity to some of the more expensive schools attended by the likes of Kousuke and Yujing's world, to partake in that kind of society and learn the kinds of social cues and behaviors that they've learned) I think Shinae will DEFINITELY be able to meet Kousuke with that understanding. Because while I think we'll see Shinae morph a little bit once exposed to that world, I don't think it will ever erase who she really is, her integrity and empathy, her strong sense of justice and morals, and most importantly, her ability to see the best in people, to see people as people. And that includes Kousuke.
The other illustration I want to include is the Anime Expo poster Quimchee did that showed a potential time skip at the bottom.
I want to focus on the potential timeskip portion, though, so let's look at that.
Again, this is NOT canon!!!! But I think we can agree that it probably is a nice little hint about what to expect from the future of ILY/where we'll find ourselves after the timeskip, right?
Of note, previously Kousuke carried the briefcase, and now it's Shinae who does. Kousuke, in fact, looks like.... well it looks like he's just going to suffer his way through the timeskip, right? Because of his trenchcoat, we can't even be sure he actually is headed to work or not, like Shinae, though I'm not sure I think Kousuke's rock bottom would include unemployment; in fact, I think the worst rockbottom is staying employed at the company, despite no longer being the heir, with no ambition, just performing duties, living a routine that brings him no real joy.
One of the thoughts that has come of this portion of the poster is that maybe this represents a dynamic where Shinae is the one chasing after Kousuke (supposing she's still his assistant and hasn't taken a position of her own in the company, which, very possible!) and trying to pull Nol with her (again, the concept of the bridge, despite Nol's reluctance). Of course, it could just be that Shinae has her eyes set forward and is working forward relentlessly, regardless of Kousuke in front of her but that could also be the dynamic of being a working woman, too.
It sets up that dynamic of Shinae now being the one who has to look after Kousuke, the way Kousuke thought he was doing for Shinae. She now the one who is successful and goal-driven, the one with potential ambition and dreams and Kousuke treading waters with no real sense of what he wants, just existing, just doing what is asked of him because what else is he supposed to do? And I think we could have a really good dynamic from them. I love when the tables flip! I loved it when Shinae was the one throwing Nol's own advice and words back at him, trying to coax him back to her, and I love the idea of Shinae doing the same thing to Kousuke, who seems now to resemble who she once did - someone who has nothing figured out, who doesn't know what she wants, who is just surviving but not living.
I WANT them to become close. I WANT Shinae to become someone who sees Kousuke - really sees him, for what he is - because she's been there, because she knew him before, because she knows how hard it can be to find yourself, because she knows how difficult it is to figure out what you want, because she knows how hard it is to climb up from the bottom (has watched her father battle alcoholism). I think he needs a friend like her - someone who is frank and real and open and says what needs to be said but knows how to deliver it in a way that isn't cruel and debilitating. And for Kousuke, who has never relied on others because he was so busy trying to impress his father, so busy trying to prove himself, to open up and maybe learn to rely on her? Ohhhh I think it would be so good, so beautiful! I think it would be a good step for him actually going forth and making friends, one day.
I know some people out there probably think that Shinae is too young to be that kind of friend to Kousuke, but I don't think it's about age as much as the kind of person you are, and Kousuke needs someone with her kind of empathy and understanding, but also someone who knows the brothers both, who knows Yui. That's an intimate understanding of his plight and while I don't think it's absolutely necessary TO help Kousuke, I think it makes the process that much easier. Because they can talk about things that would otherwise need so much explanation. Because she has a sense of both sides. Because I think she'd be someone who would be able to see what Nol will likely struggle with for so long - that Kousuke has true regrets and feels true guilt and not just because he's losing everything, but because he has Woken Up. Because he can see things for what they really are, now, and that this wasn't the kind of person he wanted to be.
I don't think it would be easy, at first. I think, a lot like Nol now, Kousuke won't want to talk about things, won't see any value in himself so why even bother, but it's Shinae's persistence and tenacity that pays off so well in this regard, in knowing how to push peoples' buttons to get them to open up. Just like she knows how to wheedle Maya, Minhyuk, to get to Nol, Shinae knows how to rile up Kousuke in a way that would be beneficial in opening up. And I think, in time, he might be willing to. Because in time, Kousuke would see the earnestness. I think he'd see the friendship, when he has nothing more to offer, when she's seen him at his lowest.
When Nol is so important to her, but she still has eyes to see Kousuke, too.
This is something about Platonic Shinsuke that REALLY gets to me. Kousuke is SO USED to being in Nol's shadow, so USED to lacking the genuine relationships he sees Nol has, so USED to coveting what Nol has, that for someone who has also been dazzled by Nol who has bathed in the sunshine that is Yeonggi, who has fallen in love with Nol but STILL can look at Kousuke and see him, as well, hasn't been so eclipsed that Kousuke is once again shadowed means SO MUCH. It's what he's always yearned for Rand to do - to see them both, to give them both attention. To love them both. If Shinae could love Nol, and still love Kousuke, even at his worst/lowest, even when Nol shines so bright in her eyes, isn't that so poignant? Doesn't that mean something?
Shinae is someone who, I think, makes other characters feel special, given the opportunity. It's part of why people are so drawn to her - and again I don't mean this in a romantic way. I think people feel seen by her. Why else do you think Alyssa had such a big fat obvious crush on her? Why else did Nol fall so hard? Why else did Minhyuk take all those extra measures to protect her? She sees people for who they really are and makes them feel like they matter - like they're something, like they're someone. And I think that's what her relationship with Kousuke will be. That, just as she saw Nol when he felt invisible and unworthy and was buried in the shadows, she'll too see Kousuke when he hides himself in the shadows feeling unworthy and unlovable, and I hope she'll have love for him. It won't be love at first. It will definitely start out as a concerned acquaintance lol but I think we'll see friendship come of it. I think we'll see companionship come from it.
Because again, how else will Shinae bridge the brothers together? If Shinae can see something in Kousuke, then maybe Nol one day will be able to try, too. Maybe one day Nol will be able to separate his hurt from his growth and acknowledge that Kousuke is more than the pain that he caused him, that people can grow and are capable of remorse and changing and that moving on sometimes means closing doors. If Shinae can see that Kousuke is not a total monster, the way she sees that Nol is not a total monster, then maybe Nol can, too.
;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~; ;~;
And tbh I just really want to see what comes of their relationship! As Shinae grows into the kind of "refined woman" in the working world that Kousuke was lmaooo god bless him trying to "help" her become, will he give her advice? Will they have dinners together? As he starts to wake up from his Self-Loathing Coma would she be able to get him to talk about work problems and help her solve things? I think they would make a fantastic professional team! But because we know Kousuke's heart isn't really in the job - he's only ever done it because he's trying to impress Rand, to reach his goal, to become CEO one day - could she convince him to pursue other career paths? Could they talk about their real passions? Could she help him discover his passion? Is this even Shinae's passion? I just want to see Kousuke open up a little bit, the way Nol has, and I think he could do it with her! I think Shinae could be a lot like family he never felt he had (yknow. Given uh. Everything with Nol alfkjakfajfkajfjk LMAO) and maybe he could be the same for her, in a different way than Minhyuk. I think there's so much potential for them, as long as Kousuke gets to that point.
AND I WANT TO SEE IT SO BADLY. I want more bickering and bantering Shinae and Kousuke, Shinae able to press his buttons and rile him up and maybe he'll learn to be less cruel with his words, find softer edges. Maybe. Hahahaha.
They're so important to me, Nonny. And I genuinely hope it could lead to Kousuke making more friends - going back to his uni friends because he's becoming a people again, maybe even make up with Yujing even if they can't ever put everything behind them. Maybe. That's such a maybe hahahahaha. I try to accept that Alyssa will likely not have a happy ending, so I try to project really hard that maybe we'll get to see Kousuke at least be a little bit okay ;~;
This isn't Shinae and Nol's story. This is Shinae and Nol and Kousuke's story, and I think she's a part of both of their lives in significant ways. I think it's not just that she's close to Nol, but that she'll be important in both of their lives, yknow? That's her magic. She's not limited to just one person; she is empathetic sees people and I think she'll serve that role in Kousuke's life, as well.
